Sports Ministry Certification #3: Enhancing & Expanding Your Call To "Real" Ministry

Foundational Talking Points
The scenario I hated most in sports and recreation ministry is when someone asked what I did for a living.  I realize the response gave me a witnessing opportunity, but when I would share I was a sports and recreation minister the response was, “What is that” or “Wow, so you get paid for having fun.”  It is not much better being a college instructor in the same field.
            During my time as a local church sports and recreation pastor my own father would ask me what was going on at work and I would tell him all the plans for different sports leagues, craft classes, and fitness programs.  There would always be a silent moment on the phone before he would ask “And, they pay you for this, right?”
            Another hated scenario was when church people considered what we did in sports and recreation ministry to be of lesser value than the “real” ministries of the church.  Even as a forty-year-old minister people wondered what kind of ministry I wanted to perform when I “grew up.”  I think I dealt with that attitude more than I did the former clarification of career above.
            One of the features of becoming sports and recreation ministry certified is the broad education one receives about “all we do” in this venue.  Some of the titles even use theological “big words” in case you need to impress your pastor.  Imagine answering the “what do you do for a living” question with a fully armed biblical answer.  Can you perceive what the response might be to the “grown up” ministry dilemma being addressed by conveying important philosophical principles to the wonderer.
            When a minister arms himself or herself with a foundational response to why we do what we do, the questions and the jokes about our career path seem to diminish.  When a response has a foundationally sound philosophy, the question about our place in the ministry food chain a person gains more understanding of why we do what we do. 

Would you like to learn how to respond to “What do you do” or “Why do you do that” questions?  Register for certification today by clicking here.
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This blog is the 3rd in a series on Sports Ministry Certification written by Professor David Waddell.   All rights reserved.  For any reproduction right, including copying, computer reproduction, etc. contact:

David Waddell  - <dwaddell@olemiss.edu
 
Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports, sports theology and ethics written by David Waddell and other local church Sports, Rec & Fitness Ministers are archived at: http://www.csrm.org/blog/